A man named Travis Jackson contacted me recently and asked if he could interview me. He felt driven to introduce other athletes to motivational stories. I said to send me his interview questions and I would answer them as soon as I could. I feel very honored and humbled that he would ask.

In his introduction to sharing my answers he kindly wrote: "A hero is someone who is admired by others. It isn’t about how much money they make, the house they live in, or even how many followers they have. With today’s worldwide media coverage it's easy for us to forget those everyday heroes. Everyday we all must overcome our own adversities. It can be easy to get lost in our own troubles, thinking nobody else understands your struggle. Hopefully through here, people will be able to understand that you are never alone. Help and encouragement is at our fingertips. If you can find this page then you can find help. One such story I came across was that of Lisa Nunley. A mother and wife, Lisa already had her hands full with life when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It would have been easy to throw in the towel. Fueled by her family’s support and a determination powered by her faith, she continues to conquer all the odds that have been stacked against her as climbs the ranks of competitive athletes. Crossfit touts itself on the principle of functional training. The term ‘functional training’ has taken on many meanings to different people. In this post, I interview Lisa and find how she has used Crossfit to forge her own meaning of functional strength:"

Of course, I do not think of myself at all as a hero, but you can find my answers to his questions here: True Sports Stories

Because of my mistakes during the 2014 Crossfit Open and Masters Qualifier, I am unable to compete in the 2015 competitions. Where did I go wrong?

I not only forgot to have fun, but I let some fears cloud my judgment as I ignored the warning signs of overtraining. I was quite literally sabotaging the fact that I was in the best shape of my life at 45 years old. Not purposely. But I became fearful that I would lose the gains I had been making. My "determination" became detrimental to my health. I lost balance... literally and figuratively.

I failed to give myself enough recovery time. I pushed harder wanting to attack all of my weaknesses and it became at the expense of my body. I also feared becoming that crippled person with MS again. I struggle even now seeing myself past that and I became my worst enemy. I used to think of all this as crushing MS... but this mental battle I was having was crushing me. Driving me to just push harder and harder as I was headed for a brick wall.

This was also a year that I experienced some very intense muscle cramps that I had never experienced before. Looking back, I know much of that was triggered by my overtraining as well. First time it happened, I was doing a ring muscle up and BAM! My calf muscle relentlessly sank in to the bone. It lasted for 10 minutes and finally after lots of water, supplements and massaging the cramped muscle, it subsided. I was seriously sore the next day in that calf.

That was very painful and I tried everything I could to stop that from happening again. But it happened again with the same intensity. And then again in both calves. I was on a strict Paleo diet. I found that significantly increasing my carbs, electrolytes and water intake was key. I thought I had it under control until I competed at the 2014 summer Oklahoma Games. It was super hot with no air flow and I was in the middle of pull-ups when I could feel my calf start to cramp. I finished the last 3 pull-ups with a full-on calf cramp, but I knew when I dropped from the bar, it would be bad. I just didn't know how bad. To my horror, almost every muscle in both of my legs cramped simultaneously. I can't even begin to tell you the extreme pain I was in. I thought a calf cramp was bad. This time, I personally failed to feed and hydrate my body sufficiently to handle the extreme heat.

I obviously learned a lot of hard lessons in 2014.

On top of doing the Crossfit workout of the day (WOD) at my box, I would daily practice my weaknesses. This isn't a bad thing until it becomes overly excessive. I also didn't give myself a break in intensity. As I pushed harder, my wrist got worse and then in August, I broke my foot. Tripped, lost my balance and tried to catch myself. I never fell, but I landed wrong on that foot. I didn't realize it was broken, though it sure didn't feel right. I thought it was another one of those muscle cramps so I finished running. I was thinking how thankful I was that it wasn't my calf or legs that were cramping. Just a little spot in my foot. My dear friend Rose even got me water and my electrolyte pills as I stretched my foot and pressed it hard up against a box-jump box. Problem was, it was broken.

The next morning, I texted my doctor."I might have possibly broken my foot, but it is probably nothing but a contusion." He went ahead and had me come in to x-ray it. His response, "You have broken it spectacularly! Not only is this a spiral fracture, but it is fragmented and splintered."

Hmmmm... do I get a trophy? LOL!

Lots of muscle cramps and two surgeries later, 2015 has become the year of recovery and balance for me. Yes, I did have surgery on my broken foot and my wrist. And I personally do believe God allowed all of this to stop me from continuing down this self-destructive spiral. My fear of being crippled by the MS was precisely where I was headed (that brick wall) ...had not the good Lord intervened. I still did balanced and modified crossfit through all of this and no, giving up is not an option.

Pictured above left is my wrist after surgery. I messed up my scapho-lunate ligament and had to have it fixed, pinned and in a splint for 10 weeks. The other two pictures are of my "spectacularly" broken 5th metatarsal fixed with a plate and 4 screws. The 2 screws on my 1st metatarsal are from corrective bone surgery in 2011.

The 2015 Crossfit Open is coming up quickly and I haven't written on my website for almost a year. Since then, I have unexpectedly been contacted by people all over the world who are struggling with MS and I have been asked to update what has been happening.

My new Coach, whose team placed 5th in regionals last year (PHENOMENAL!), kept telling me I had the potential to make it to the games. I kept telling him there was no way. Did he not recall how I started? I mean really! Does Coach Trevor live in la-la land?

After placing 75th in the world and 6th in the region for the 2014 Crossfit Open in my age division (45-49), I qualified to compete in the worldwide 2014 Masters Qualifier. In the Masters Qualifier, I placed 29th in the world. Only the top 20 get to compete in the games held annually in California. I was within arms reach, which was way closer than I ever imagined... (I guess my coach actually does live in la-la land... LOL... well, almost anyway) I have to add that training with such motivated masters athletes, along with the programming and coaching at my box (CF540) brought me to a level I never thought possible. I will also always appreciate where I started crossfit (CFNWA). Very thankful for the Crossfit community!

The Masters Qualifier was tough. We had 7 legit masters athletes from my box that made it to the Masters Qualifier in our various age divisions. Such an amazing group of masters athletes! I personally thought about backing out because my wrist seriously hurt. I hurt it a few days after completing the Crossfit Open WOD 14.5, I haven't been able to practice ring muscle-ups at all. I have only done light-weight lifts, strict pull-ups, slow strict handstand push-ups along with some WOD's posted at my box that I did at a lighter weight with some substituted movements. I even re-hurt my wrist 5 days before the Masters Qualifier would begin. I thought I was ready to do bar muscle-ups. I tried one and it felt okay. So, I decided to try them consecutively. On my 10th one (not a good decision on my part), I felt a jolt of pain and my wrist popped. Felt like being stabbed over and over with an ice pick. I thought I was done.

As I prayerfully contemplated whether or not to even do the Master's Qualifier, it hit me that since I have unexpectedly made it this far in the Open, I HAVE to give it a try no matter what... And then the competition workouts were announced. I thought I might possibly be able to survive 3 of them, but I really didn't think I was even going to be able to do the "Amanda" WOD. This workout has an incredible history behind why it was even created. It entails a total of 21 ring muscle-ups (full body-weight on my hurt wrist) and 21 full squat snatches at 95#'s. My 1 rep max at the time was 115#'s. This all seemed impossible!

I had very little confidence that I could do this. If it weren't for the encouragement of my coach and athletes at my box (Crossfit 540), my children and especially my husband's support, then even starting might not have happened. Well, and then there's that tattoo on my ankle that doesn't rub off that says "NEVER GIVE UP." It was glaring at me.

The experience of actually completing the Masters Qualifier seems more like a dream. 4 events in 4 days completed in any order I choose... I wrapped my wrist tight and hit a PR on the first event (1 rep max clean at 168#'s). It must be the adrenaline. On the second event (which, for me, was rowing, HSPU's and DU's), I actually choked on the Double-Unders. That's nothing new for me. On the 3rd event, I did Amanda. Oh my. My nerves were getting the best of me. I really didn't think I could do it. I chose to do one muscle-up at a time and when I got to the bar to do the snatches, the adrenaline kicked in and I unexpectedly hit every one of them. I ACTUALLY FINISHED!!! I was so shocked that I started crying. I made it through that with a hurt wrist. It took me 25 minutes and 11 seconds to do a WOD I never thought I could ever do. With 3 down... 1 more to go, I was spent. The final day, I saved for the 100 pull-ups followed by 100 wall-ball shots with a 14 lb. wallball to a 9-foot target. I saved it for last because I knew my hands would likely rip. And boy, did they rip! I didn't realize how bad it was until I finished.

Since I didn't make it as a competitor at the games, my husband and I decided to fly to California to attend the games with Brandon, who is our 2nd oldest of our 6 children. We also got to visit our oldest son, Josh, who was doing a summer applied math internship. He was only 30 minutes away from where the games were being held. While at the games, I got to meet some of my competitors and I learned that Crossfit Headquarters invited up to 24th place in my age division because 4 people who initially qualified couldn't attend. I was already blown away that I even came this far, considering I started Crossfit 3 months after having to walk with a walker due to the Multiple Sclerosis. Now I learned I was only 5 places away from being able to compete in the big games!

I plan to write about my injuries that entailed two surgeries in 2014 and why I've decided that my body needs to take time to recover in 2015 before I compete again.I guarantee you that the risks associated with living a sedentary lifestyle are far higher than doing crossfit. I know this firsthand from my experience during relapses since being diagnosed with MS in 1990. By the grace of God, I have had no MS relapses since starting crossfit in 2011 and changing my diet.

I promise I won't take another year before I write about this. For now, I want to go spend time with my family. God Bless. And to God alone be the glory for all of this.

I encourage those doing crossfit to sign up for the open this year!!! There's still time. You NEVER KNOW where it may lead you. The first year I did the open was in 2012. I was fresh out of a wheelchair due to corrective bone surgeries. Crossfit HQ posted a photo of me still doing crossfit in that wheelchair HERE.

I am approaching my 3rd year of Crossfit and just completed the Crossfit Open 2014 as a masters division athlete for ages 45-49. You can view my Crossfit athlete page here ATHLETE: LISA NUNLEYThe goal for masters athletes for this open was to stay in the top 200 worldwide so they could move on to a new pre-games competition discussed here NEXT UP: MASTERS AND REGIONAL ATHLETESI have very unexpectedly placed 6th in the North Central region and 75th in the world.I will therefore move on to the next step discussed at that link above and will try to update how that goes... Lol. Thankful beyond measure for God's kind grace in healing my body and allowing me to do Crossfit.

I got an email this week. It was actually a comment on this site that was sent to my email. It seriously touched my heart, so I got the person's permission to put his message here, along with my response:

Hi Lisa,

My son is a Crossfit trainer... Last week he attended a training camp in Bolder CO. At the end of training, one of the trainers was closing out the training and she said, "Crossfit is not for the elite but all walks of life." ...at this point she went into speaking about you! ...My son told me it was like God Slapped him in the face. You see, his step Mom, my Wife, has MS and she is mostly confined to a wheel chair. This has happened within the last 5 years. It pains me to see her like this. I love her with all my heart and will do anything for her. Maybe I am being selfish, but I would love to be able to dance with her again.

My question is where do we begin? ...

Please help me help my wife.

God Bless you.

Reading this message brought tears. I have no doubt my husband felt the same way as he watched me go downhill from the crippling affects of Multiple Sclerosis since being diagnosed in 1999. (You can read my story here: Once Imprisoned in a Broken Body.) As the person battling this horrible disease, I remember longing to stomp in mud puddles with my kids and take long walks with my husband and go hiking in the Colorado mountains with my family. My family stepped up to the plate and never made me feel like less of a person, but it was hard on our active family and I felt so guilty.

As for the writer's question, "Where do we begin?"... I will do my best to share what has worked on my journey towards healing. I have to start with saying that I had no real plan. I had no idea that Crossfit would be the beginning of this healing journey. As I shared in my story, I really had no hope that Crossfit would last for me. Don't get me wrong, I knew I would like it. From everything my husband told me about it, Crossfit sounded like something I would love. But, I thought it was too late for me. I don't know why I even showed up that day to watch and ask questions about it. Was I trying to torture myself with just the idea of it? A dream that would never come to be? But there I was... and here I still am. As of today, I have been doing Crossfit for almost exactly 2 1/2 years. Thank you Lord (and of course, IN YOUR FACE MS!!!).

I had no confidence when I walked in those doors. I was actually embarrassed. But I went through the on-ramp classes that introduced the movements and goals. And I spent the first year of Crossfit waiting. Waiting to get sick again. Waiting for the ball to drop. Waiting for the dream to end.

I could barely air squat. Picking up a barbell was downright embarrassing. Jumping? Oh dear Lord why was I doing this? I felt so stupid... but I kept coming back. The people were so genuinely encouraging. And then I began to hear other people's amazing stories. And a few months in, as I was waiting to be sick again, I was introduced to thePaleo diet.

You see, for over 12 years, I was struggling with relapsing/remitting MS and literally getting crippling sick every 3 to 5 months. Things were getting worse each year and three months before I started Crossfit, I was walking with a walker and being told to prepare for a wheelchair full-time as it looked like I was headed for Progressive MS. But faith, Crossfit and Paleo changed my life.

So here are my steps on where to begin that have worked for me.

1. Prayer. Hey, I am Christian and I am not ashamed to give God complete glory for directing my footing in all of this. Praying for God's healing and guidance did not come in the way I expected, nor did it happen in the time I expected. But He answered. He always does. I wanted God to "magically" heal me. He could. He's God. But God had another plan. His plan included me participating in the healing process. This wasn't "let go (do nothing) and let God (do everything)"... this was "Trust God and get off my butt and do something." As a mom of 6 kids, it wasn't like I was sitting around watching soaps and eating bon-bons. But I wasn't taking the time to be informed. I was just letting the doctors tell me what to do... and I gave in. I figured, this was my lot... suck it up. But then, things changed... and I had no clue that God was at work preparing to change my life when I walked in the doors of Crossfit NWA in April of 2011...The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.-Psalm 28:72. Information. Whether you have relapsing/remitting MS or Progressive MS (or any auto-immune disorder), watch this video By Dr. Wahl, who had Progressive MS and WAS confined to a wheelchair: MINDING YOUR MITOCHONDRIA. She also has a website that I recommend HERE. And yes, I do take the vitamins, etc., that she recommends.3. Determination. I literally took my health into my own hands and did my own research because nothing else was working. I made hard, out-of-my-comfort-zone changes that have made a huge difference. These changes included researching the Paleo diet and throwing out everything in my eating habits that did not measure up to Paleo standards. I set my mind on the reality that I could choose to contribute to my healthcare by watching what I eat, keeping my stress level in-check and staying active. For me, staying active is Crossfit. And it is absolutely true that anyone can do Crossfit. It is infinitely scalable. I have witnessed, time-and-time again, people who are not supposed to be able to do Crossfit, doing Crossfit. You know... like me.4. Diligence. Changing habits is hard and your health is not going to change overnight. Find your motivation. What's mine? If I eat this crap food, I might loose the ability to walk again. What is yours? I don't know, but find it and stick with it. Let it haunt you. Let it motivate you. And then decide, day-after-day, to stick with it.5. Crossfit, to survive, but also to thrive. To survive means "to carry on despite hardships; to persevere and continue to exist as you remain functional or usable." But to thrive is that step beyond. It means "to make steady progress; to prosper and flourish." If Crossfit isn't your thing, find something to keep you active. I do genuinely understand that even though anyone can do it, it is not for everyone. Even after I had bone surgeries that landed me in a wheelchair, I did Crossfit. And there is seriously nothing quite like the community and accountability in Crossfit. I've seen videos of people doing Crossfit with missing limbs. There really are no excuses. What I find both humbling and hilarious is that if you google "no excuses," in the images, you will find a picture of me in the wheelchair with both legs in casts doing Crossfit. It was a picture posted on the Crossfit mainsite in 2011. I am wearing a bright blue shirt and doing a strict shoulder press.

To give you an idea of how Crossfit and Paleo have permeated into other areas of my life I will tell you that not only am I able to be active with my family again, but I was able to go to Spain with my family this past Spring Break and run up what seemed like endless stairs of a castle there, while others took the escalator. I ran because I could... and when I reached the top, I cried. I am also back in college pursuing another degree that was just a dream that I never thought would come to fruition. And yes, it was this experience with Crossfit that gave me the confidence to follow this long-time goal of going back to college.

I have also unexpectedly gotten to compete in the Crossfit Open two years in a row along with other Crossfit competitions. The most memorable and all-time favorite competitions for me was this past summer with my 18 year old son, Brandon. We were a two-person team competing RX just before he headed off to college. Brandon finished in the top 10% in the world in the Crossfit Open this year, so it was quite humbling and very special to me that he would compete with his mother. What was even sweeter was that it was his idea and not mine.

A personal milestone competition that also means a lot to me is the annual Crossfit Springfield's HOA six person team competition coming up in less than a month.The first one I went to was in the fall of 2011. I was a spectator who could barely stand up because I had just gotten out of the wheelchair from bone surgeries. I watched this competition and thought how I wished I could do something like that... never really thinking it would ever happen. But in 2012, I got to compete at HOA and on the 3rd day of competition in the last WOD, every team had to climb a wall after finishing some very tough movements. I climbed that last wall, but to me it wasn't just a wall to climb to finish a WOD (workout of the day). It was symbolic of the barriers I have had to break through and climb to get where I am today, by the grace of God. This will be my second year to compete at the HOA and I am so blessed that God would be so gracious in allowing me to actually live this dream.

But it doesn't stop there. Remember when I wrote above that when I first started Crossfit, I could barely do an air squat? ...I am so excited that as of today I can now do a 175 lb front squat; a 265 lb dead-lift; that I am 13 seconds away from a sub-5 Rx FRAN; I still suck at double-unders, but I am doing them and I won't give up trying; I can climb a 10 foot rope 6 times in 2 minutes; I can do bar muscle-ups and ring muscle-ups; I can bench press 150 lbs; I can do 35 pull-ups unbroken; I can do Pistols (one-legged butt-to-heel squats) and can Overhead Squat 135 lbs. No, this isn't Crossfit Game impressive... but for a 125 lb, almost 45 year old woman with 6 kids battling MS ...all of this was unexpected icing that went and continues to go far beyond what I ever thought possible.

In 2012, my MRI showed no active lesions. In the summer of 2013, my MRI showed one active lesion so I made some changes to my eating habits and vitamins and became even more diligent. And I feel amazing! And if I look back on the MRI's since 1999 when I was diagnosed and my brain became covered with irreversible damage from the multiple lesions that have scarred my brain from before I started Crossfit and Paleo, I would say this path I am on is a win-win.

And no, I am not on any MS medications. I threw them all out in 2011 after I went Paleo because I just had to see for myself if it would work. This is not something I recommend. That's definitely a personal decision, of which I have no regrets.

For those with MS or a loved one struggling with MS (or any auto-immune disorder), I can't promise what has worked for me will work for you. I can say that it was worth the risk and I am not the only one who has experienced substantially positive, life-changing health benefits. It isn't easy to change your habits. But for me, the initial challenges and risks have proven to be far more valuable than I ever thought possible.

You see, God answered my prayer in His time and on His terms. I'm actually very thankful He didn't answer in the way I expected. Why? Because what He has done, not only for me physically, but also spiritually is far beyond anything I ever expected. I just wanted to walk and be active with my family without the fear of being confined to a cane, walker or wheelchair. But God... He had other plans. Apparently His plan includes things like handstand push-ups and doing Crossfit with my family.

God heals. I do believe He heals miraculously; sometimes wanting participation from us (as in my case), sometimes through the God-given skills of doctors and sometimes rather dramatically and seemingly mysteriously. I have experienced and witnessed God's healing hand and believe whole-heartedly in the power of prayer (Philippians 4:6-8; John 15:7; Romans 8:26; James 4:3; Luke 12:6-7; Psalm 34:17-19). Regardless of how He heals, He alone should get the glory. I used to be a strong cessationist, but now see that God cannot be confined to a box. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8-9

God knows us, He created us, watches over us, cares intimately for us in every detail of our lives (Psalm 139), so, here is my prayer for the man and his wife who contacted me:I genuinely plead for God's healing hand upon your wife. I pray that you two will not only dance together again, but that you will give God glory and proclaim what He has accomplished in your lives to others. No trial is too difficult for God and no prayer is too hard for God to answer, so as you wait for His perfect timing to heal your wife's body in the way He sees fit, I pray you stand in His truth, fully trusting that He will do this great and mighty work of healing. I also pray that you offer upcontinual thankfulness as God does hear and does answer. With great expectation as we boldlyapproach God's throne of grace on your wife's behalf, asking, seeking, pleading and persistentlyknocking (Luke 18:1-8; Matthew 7:7-11), we place our confidence in the Lord, knowing that He willprovide this family with divine strength and wisdom to direct their footing in the way they should go as You, God, work all things together for their good. It is in God alone we seek refuge. Bless this family Lord and please restore health and strength as theycommit their way to You.

If you do not intimately know the God of which I write about, consider reading THIS.

The Strongman competition with my son Brandon this summer truly was a blast. We used equipment that we had never used and we were able to do every movement they threw at us. We actually picked up and carried a Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was massively heavy, but we did it!

And that same day, after the competition was over, I said goodbye to my son as he left for college. It was just as hard to watch him drive off as it was to watch our oldest son, Josh, leave for college last year. But I'm so proud of those boys and very thankful for both of them. They work hard and they are both kind-hearted.

So... where do I begin? This has been a year so far that is already full of both abundant blessings and unexpected trials. Yes, I got to compete in the Crossfit Open again this year! Master's division! And being in the master's division makes turning 45 this December suh-weet! In the middle of the 2013 open, I went to Spain with my husband and two oldest sons. I also went to a Crossfit Level 1 course in Dallas and FAILED the test. I wrote about it HERE and it was tweeted by Crossfit mainsite. Honored! Even though failing that test was humiliating! But I re-took the entire course and test with my son, Brandon, in the Spring and PASSED! So I now have trainer certificates in Crossfit Level 1, Crossfit Gymnastics with Jeff Tucker and Crossfit Olympic Lifting with Coach Burgener.I have also had the greatest opportunity I have ever experienced in Crossfit... competing ALONGSIDE my son Brandon at the Kansas City Summer Crush two-person team competition as an Rx division team. I originally signed up to compete there as a master's level individual, but not enough people signed up for masters, so I unexpectedly ended up competing with my son. Brandon was amazing! He not only did phenomenally well at the competition, but he was such a huge encouragement to me, the oldest Rx team competitor there, and gave me a sweet hug and said "Good job, Mom!" after each event. Words cannot adequately describe what a blessing it was to be there with Brandon. To compete with my 18 year old son who I think could have won that thing if he was competing with a gal that was at his level of fitness. But hey, we got 16th place out of 32 Rx teams. And best of all, we had fun!What's coming up? I get to compete in a Strongman competition with Brandon. No, we are not on a team, but we are doing this together this weekend. I am super nervous! NEVER in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would do anything like this. In this competition, there are 5 events. I don't expect to win, but I do expect to have a blast! Information on this event is HERE.I'd appreciate your prayers!I have two more Crossfit events planned this year. One is a 4 person team competition called WOD Wars and the other, God-willing, is a 6 person Master's Division team for the HOA 2013 competition in Springfield, MO. I am also back in college getting a second bachelors degree with a masters degree in sight as well. I started this week. And I almost didn't do this. Why? Because I received some bad news on my last MRI's. My thoracic MRI was clear. But, my brain MRI and cervical MRI were not. What is my course of action? I WILL NOT get back on MS meds. I WILL NOT be doing high-dose IV steroids. I WILL be stricter with my Paleo eating habits and I WILL increase my intake of natural supplements that promote anti-inflammatory response. And NO! this bad news was not in my plan. I was completely sideswiped by it. But I will, as my little ankle tattoo says, NEVER GIVE UP!Plus, I have this husband of over 21 years who loves the Lord above all, supports me, believes in me and brings me flowers for no particular special occasion... except that he loves me.

I do have to include that this news initially had me hanging on by a thread for a bit as I was trying to process it all... which made my NEVER GIVE UP tattoo glaringly annoying. But God... He's amazing beyond words. So patient with me...

And even though this was not at all what I was expecting, it hit me... what is more of a miracle? For me to have clear MRI's or for me to be defying the odds and functioning at such a high level in spite of the findings?

Squatting is a foundational movement that can actually define someone's level of independence in regards to the necessary and natural movements required for everyday living. It isn't just a movement we do at crossfit to make us athletically stronger. Think about getting on and off the toilet, sitting down in a chair etc. This requires you to squat, right?I've gone through some serious physically debilitating seasons in my life over more than a decade with this battle with relapsing-remitting MS and the most frustrating and humiliating times were losing the ability to do everyday tasks/movements, like bending over to pick something up, walking without assistance, sitting down on a chair and then having to get back up, and worst of all, being able to actively play with my kids without falling over.On several occassions, I had to resort to using a cane or walker due to leg weakness and lack of balance from the MS. On a beautiful Spring day at one point, i was trying to throw a football with one of my sons. I kept dropping it when he threw it back to me because I was trying to catch it with one hand, as i also tried to stabilize my lack of balance and weakness with a cane. My son would run over to help me pick up the football time and time again so I could throw it back to him. We repeated this cycle several times and then he said as kindly as he could, "Mom, playing football with you is like playing fetch with myself." I thought it was hilarious. And it hit me how sweet he was being by trying so hard to help me be active... Unfortunately, it was at his expense.I didn't ask him to run over and pick up that football for me. He just did. He's just that sweet. But it got understandably old. I longed to be able to catch that darn football, stomp in mud puddles, play actively with my kids... And now I can... and more! As I've said, God has used Crossfit and the Paleo diet to heal my body. I'm learning more and more everyday, including how to strengthen my legs that are so far behind compared to my upper body. I'm throwing around weight I NEVER thought possible, having to make new goals as i keep meeting the ones i have set and i am having fun in the process. I mean really!!! Who at my age that has gone through the debilitating effects of MS and is a mom to a half dozen kids can climbs ropes and walls, do handstand push-ups and olympic weightlifting? It IS funny! It IS going against all the odds. And it is by the grace of God. And i am just so thankful. Some have asked why I do all of this? What am I trying to prove? Well, ha, I do it because I can and even though I didn't start off trying to prove anything, the results of Crossfit and Paleo have proved themselves overwhelmingly. I remember waiting for the ball to drop. I was used to being on an MS roller coaster as I increasingly got side-swiped every 3-4 months. But it's been over 2 years now since I've had any MS issues. I no longer wait to get sick. I live everyday actively and well beyond what I ever dreamed possible.So back to strengthening my legs. On top of doing Crossfit, I decided to go through this additional squat program available at this link: Russian Squat ProgrammingI completed this 3 day a week, 6 week program and increased the lift I chose to focus on (front squat) by 15 pounds. Not only did my one rep max increase, but so did my confidence in doing the Olympic lift called the clean (which also increased 15 pounds), and I felt this program allowed me to also focus on proper technique.My motivation for doing this program was not in thinking Crossfit wasn't enough. It was a complementary program to the excellent Crossfit programming at my box that allowed me to conquer a goal on a movement that I've had a hard time personally advancing on. It was well worth the time. You can essentially pick any lift you want to work on and plug your one rep max in and it will develop the 6 weeks of lifting for you. Just stick with it and I promise you will see results. Now I'm going to take a 2-3 week break from the "extras" and try out Smolov! Just remember to have fun!

So honored to be able to walk into Crossfit Strong this weekend and be expertly guided, taught, trained by Cherie, Kimmy, Gale, Kevin, Spencer, Dean and Chance. Absolutely worth the money and time. I can't thank you all enough for your patience and such thorough imparting of your knowledge and experience to help prepare this almost 45 year old woman with 6 kids battling MS with Crossfit and Paleo, not just for the Level 1 exam, but for moving me further forward in this Crossfit journey that just keeps transforming my life in ways I never thought possible.

My brain has seriously and literally been scarred from the MS and I sometimes seem almost back to square one with re-learning, learning and processing. Yes, my brain is still covered in MS lesions, but through Crossfit and Paleo, I am functioning at an "impossible" level. God-willing, someday all those scars will disappear, but if they stay, I consider them to be a reminder of what God has and is accomplishing.

As I went through the course, I prayed constantly and often peeked at my "Never Give Up" tattoo that is on my inside ankle. I got this tattoo after starting Crossfit. I soaked up everything I could at this course and I really don't know my limits anymore. They are constantly being tested and goals re-set. Even if I hit a wall, i have learned that eventually that wall will move or crumble over time.

I have always had serious test anxiety... so before the Crossfit Level 1 test, i wanted to throw-up... during the test, I saw words that didn't process... And after the test, I have zero confidence I passed. But, by the grace of God alone, I will never give up, even if I have to take that test a billion times.

As my first year to judge and second year to do the Crossfit Open, I will say judging is far more stressful. Our Crossfit box standards are high and to be a judge at my box you have to have at least one year of experience doing Crossfit and our box owner requires all judges to pass the Crossfit mainsite's On-line Judging Course. As a judge and competitor, I don't want to disappoint my box owner or my fellow crossfitters. I want to walk away (sometimes crawl away) knowing I gave it everything I had. I love that our standards are high with an emphasis on safety at CrossfitNWA, not only through the year, but especially at the Open. You absolutely know you have earned every rep, and I can't think of anyone at my box that would feel right about counting a "no rep."

I also love that the Open competition is set up to allow such a broad range of athletes to compete. I encouraged everyone I came across to just do it. I did it last year after getting out of that wheelchair only about three months before it started.

In a Crossfit journal article called Foundations it says, "Crossfit has tested its methods on the sedentary, overweight, pathological, and elderly and found that these special populations met the same success as our stable athletes... If our program works for Olympic Skiers and overweight, sedentary homemakers then it will work for you."

I have met people in public who end up talking about Crossfit as though it is extreme and only for the elite. I beg to differ. Not only does my testimony disprove this, but I have met people who have never worked out a day in their life having their lives changed by Crossfit. I have witnessed and listened to testimony after testimony at my own box of obese people having pounds melt away, people with cancer surviving and accomplishing things the doc said wouldn't be possible, aging people no longer giving in to "growing old," and my personal crossfit hero at my box was in a coma and then a wheelchair and when she barely walked into to our box with very little balance with that great big smile, I knew this girl would be a lifelong friend... Watch this video of the local news allowing my crossfit hero and I to give our stories: Local Woman walks again with Crossfit (PLEASE NOTE that the news interview stated that I came into Crossfit in a wheelchair. That is not true. Three months before I walked into CrossfitNWA I was walking with a walker from the MS. I was told to prepare for possibly permanently being in a wheelchair due to the MS brain lesions covering my brain, but the picture of me in the wheelchair is due to bone surgeries and I had been already doing crossfit for 6 months before I had the surgeries... and I continued to do crossfit in the wheelchair)

There is even a gal at our box that, if she hadn't been doing Crossfit, would't have found out about the huge tumor growing in her abdomen. I could go on and on about more amazing, life-changing stories. I have to add though that the inevitable and overwhelming benefits of Crossfit are not balanced without healthy eating habits... and the Crossfit mainsite will agree. Included in that Crossfit Journal article called Foundations is, "The Crossfit view is that fitness and health are the same thing. It is also interesting to notice that the health professional maintains your health with drugs and surgery each with potentially undesirable effects whereas the Crossfit Coach typically achieves a superior result always with "side benefits" vs. side effects. I wrote a little bit of my personal experience with this here: No more MS injections for me...

The word side-effect makes me think of those seemingly pleasant TV commercials with calming music and tranquil images as an appeasing voice-over initially tells you what the drug will help, but then spends more time listing all the horrid side-effects worse then the problem, like "this may cause vomiting, nightmares, diarrhea, death, etc..."

I'll choose the "side-benefits" of Crossfit any day... even though the workouts still scare me. Lol

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I'm Lisa. Been married 23 years. Got 6 kids ranging in age from 12 to 21 and I'm in the master's division for Crossfit... LOL.According to all those brain lesions covering my brain due to MS, I should be confined to a wheelchair. But God... He had other plans. So, I'm in the middle of living out the impossible. I do Crossfit at Crossfit 540

Date Night with my husband on our family of 8's first Caribbean Cruise, March 2014